Once Upon A Moonless Night
by The Forever Young One
Summary: Frankly, Kratos didn't know why he hadn't woken up that morning. The doctors said it was because of the accident, but he believed that it was because of a certain blonde man. AU for the first few chapters! No pairings as of right now!
1. The Accident

**Once Upon A Moonless Night **

**_Ch. 1: The Accident_**

_**SilverMoon:** Okay...so I wanted to get a few more chapters written before I put this up...but it kept bothering me so...here it is!! I guess...XD I don't wanna be slow updating this one like the others cause....I like the way I have this story planned out. :D But just so you know, I haven't given up on_ Here We Go Again _and_ Tales of the Forgotten Memories_, I'm just a bit writersblocked. I'll update those ASAP.  
**Lloyd:** Wow...that was long....XD  
**Me:** Yeah...it was...so, feel like disclaiming me?  
**Lloyd:** Fine....SilverMoon doesn't own ToS, Namco, or Saving Me by Nickelback.  
**Me:** Yeah...this story was inspired by that song..so...please listen to it. Its an awesome song!! ANYWAYS...onto the story!! (Which looked longer on paper than it is now.....XD)_

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It was a peacful evening, the stars shined brightly in the black midnight sky. Like little speckles of glitter on black construction paper. It looked even better with the moon not being out. And the scene was completley peaful. That sky, of course, was a big, fat, liar. Soon, one sound filled the empty nighttime air, the sound of a crash.

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Kratos had just gotten off work and was now on his way to pick up his son, Lloyd, who had been staying at his friend Zelos' house for the time Kratos was at work, which was twelve hours. He pulled into the gravel driveway and put the car in park, watching his son yell a goodbye to Zelos as he walked up to the car. His red shirt stuck out like a tomato in an eggplant garden. He shuttered at the thought of tomatoes.

"Lloyd, come on!!" Kratos shouted as his son ran back into Zelos' house, seeming to forget something. When he walked back out he flashed his dad a goofy grin before walking to the back of the car and opening the trunk, throwing his bags down and slamming it shut. He walked back to the passenger side door and got into the car.

Once in, he strapped up and said, turning to his father, "Hey dad."

"So did you have a good time?" Kratos asked as he pulled out of the driveway, having to slam on his breaks as some idiot sped down the sidestreet going at least ninety. He was sure that was illegal.

"Eh, it was okay. For a while we played Rock Band. I kicked his butt every time!" Lloyd said with a victorius smile, "Oh yeah! And he got this new video game too. It was something about tails, it was pretty cool." That line pretty muched ended the conversation.

A few times, Kratos had tried to start another conversation, but Lloyd would end it quickly with a short answer to an asked question. He sighed and squeaked to a stop as they were at a red light, a long one at that. For about three minutes they sat there, the music playing softly in the car. Noticing what song it was, Lloyd turned it up.

_And all, I need, is you.  
(Hurry, I'm falling I'm falling)_

The light turned green and Kratos stepped on the gas, the oncoming car to the right going completely unnoticed.

_Show me what its like,  
(to be the last one standing)_

Squealing tires as Kratos turned the wheel, frantically trying to avoid a collision.

_And teach me wrong, from right  
(And I'll show you what I can be)_

A shout of "Lloyd!!" as the two cars collided.

_Say it for me, say it to me,  
And i'll leave this life behind me._

Then, everything went black, for all the stars, had flickered out.

_Say it if its worth saving me. _

--

Kratos awoke to flashing lights and people screaming over the blaring noise of sirens. Someone near him yelled something that sounded like, "CLEAR!!" but he wasn't sure. He tried to move, but his body disagreed as he felt a wave of pain in his leg and hand. He had a horrible headache, he guessed it was from the noise. Vagely, he realized that he was on a raised platform, probably a stretcher.

"Ah, I see your awake," A familiar voice said somewhere nearby, "I thought you were going to be out all night. And don't worry, you'll be in the hospital soon." A paramedic with white hair frayed every which way and deep blue eyes said as she walked over to Kratos' unmoving form on the stretcher.

"Raine..? W-what.." He groaned in pain as another wave came over his head, and his jaw muscles refusing to move.

"You shouldn't talk, you managed to get a pretty bad cut on your jaw. As for what happened, you got into a car accident. A bad one at that. The man who hit you's name was Mithos Yggdrasil. Unfortunately, he died upon impact." She said as she felt his neck to check his pulse, give a once-over to his injuries. After that was done, she called over to paramedics and together they hauled Kratos' stretcher into the waiting ambulance.

"What...about....Lloyd.....?" Kratos asked before falling into unconciousness.

Raine bit her lip and closed the ambulance doors.

**--3 weeks later--**

Kratos sat in his hospital bed, and sighed for a tenth time. Having been caught in his attempt to get out of the room on crutches and go see Lloyd, who he had not seen yet, they put him under nurse surviellence. He grumbled something about being a father and laid down once again onto the umcomfortable bed.

The nurse at the nearby, sighed, put her book down, spun around in her chair, and strode over to Kratos' bed. She gave him an annoyed look that said, 'why did you have to get in that accident?' and asked, "Let me check on your wounds Mr. Aurion." She checked to make sure that the leg props were still up and then looked back to Kratos.

He had gotten by with just a broken leg, two broken fingers, and a cut on his face that ran from just above his left eyebrow, curved, just barely missing his eye, and went all the way down to the bottom of his chin. He considered himself to be very lucky to still be alive. Of course, since Lloyd was in the passengers seat at the time, Kratos had gotten only an eighth of the damage Lloyd had gotten. Or so the nurses said.

The nurse removed the bandage on his face and got a look on her face that looked like she was going to pass out right then and there. She shuddered and replaced the bandage with a fresh clean one. She checked once again on the leg and hand prop and the strode back to her chair, and sat down to read once again.

Kratos sighed, for the elventh time, and laid down on his bed, deciding whether or not he should try to escape the room and go visit Lloyd. Of course, the nurses they assigned him always looked big and burly, one of them had even been a man with tatoos running all down his arms and big huge biceps. There was something wrong with this hospital for hiring a man like that to be a nurse.

He looked at the ceiling, it was beige, or at least he thought it was beige, it could've been a discolored white. Then again, this hospital was pretty clean. He rememebered having to take Lloyd here many times. He was very adventurous as a little kid and always loved to climb trees. But, that was before his mother died.

He sighed _again _and started to count the number of circles he could find in the little dots on the ceiling.

**--Another 3 weeks later(1)--**

Kratos stared at the discolored white ceiling, now counted the number of tiles that were there, having counted all the circles, squares, and triangles he could find in the dots. He glared at it and lost count at 20. To say in simple terms, he was outraged (which still didn't describe how he felt at the moment). The fact of the matter was, they still wouldn't let him visit Lloyd. After six weeks of doing nothing but sitting around, you'd think they'd let him at least wander around. But no, apparently they didn't trust him well enough.

He sat up when a nurse walked into the room, carrying a clipboard with her. He gave her a look of distaste, '_what do they want now?' _he thought with a mental glare.

"Hello Mr. Aurion, how are you feeling today?" She asked in an overly cheerful manner.

"I'm doing fine. And please, just call me Kratos." '_It's annoying when they call me "Mr. Aurion".' _he added in his head. She walked over to him and gave him a big smile.

"Well that's good," she smiled wider, white teeth glimmering in the flourescent light, "So, down to buisness. We have good news, and great news for you Mr--Kratos. Which would you like to hear first?"

"The good news please." Kratos muttered with a hint of anger. This nurse must work with children a lot because Kratos was sure that he looked nothing like a child. Silently, he glared and waited for the nurse to stop flipping through papers on her clipboard. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she found the right paper.

"Okay, good news is you're free to go today! And...the great news is..you can see your son today!" She gave him another smile, "So, just fill out these papers and you're good to go!"

Kratos' mood immediately brightened as he took the papers from the woman and hurridly filled them out. He finished, signing the last paper with his name, and handed the clipboard back to the nurse. He stood, and stretched, his now fully healed leg glad to finally be moving. He took a pair of clothes from a duffle bag that Raine had brought in from his house and walked into the bathroom that was in his room.

He put the clothes on the toilet seat and looked into the mirror, his hair was a mess and he looked like he was bored out of his mind. He shook his head and splashed some water into his face. Ready to change, he changed quickly into a long and loose purple t-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. He threw on some shoes and walked out of the bathroom.

Grabbing the duffle bag, he asked the nurse in the room which room Lloyd was in. She said to ask the nurse at the help desk and went back to cleaning up the desk. He thanked her and walked out of the hospital room and into the busy hallway. Walking over to the help desk and asked what room Lloyd was in.

"Go up to the seventh floor and his room is number 705**(2)**." She said while not looking up from her computer screen. He nodded even though she wasn't looking and walked off towards the elevator.

When the doors opened, the elevator was empty, he was glad for that. Pushing the 'close doors' button, he waited for the doors to slowly close, willing them to hurry up. When they finally closed, he pushed the seventh floor button and waited.

After a nausous ride on the elevator and having to travel down four hallways, he finally found Lloyd's room. Indicated by the sign that stuck outwards from the wall. On the wall next to the door, was a smaller sign that read 705 and under that was yet another sign that read Lloyd Aurion.

After a pause, he turned the knob and pushed the door open, just in time to see a black coat and blonde hair fall out the window. He ran over to the edge and stuck his head out to look below. He saw nothing but pink petals from the trees in the parking lot fluttering around in the air.

He sighed and turned bakc to the bed that his son was lying on. Suddenly, he knew why he hadn't been allowed to go see his son in the past weeks, and why Lloyd was on the intesive care floor.

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_**1: **I'll be doing timeskips a lot so...get used to it please....  
**2: **XD That's ToS in leet which is numbers that are translated into letters. For instance, 7 in leet is a T in letters. _

_**Me:** Man! I feel so evil leaving it there!! O.o  
**Lloyd:** Good for you!! You're evil now!! :D  
**Me:** Um...okay...? So please review and tell me what you thought!! After I write the third chapter, the second one will be posted. Which'll probably be in a few days! Lucky you!! XD  
**Lloyd:** Should I tell them how unbearably short it was?  
**Me:** .....-sigh- fine....T_T  
**Lloyd:** YAY!! Wordcount for this chapter was.....2,379!! Wow....longer than I thought it was...O.o  
**Me:** Review and you'll get an injured Lloyd cookie!! :D_


	2. The Coma

_**Ch. 2: The Coma**_

_**Silver:** Okay, I am SO sorry for the late update!! I know I should've done something like at least updated another story, but I started school Sep. 8th and I've been SO BUSY since then so....I'M SORRY!!  
**Lloyd:** So you're alive! O.o  
**Me:** Whatever. Anyways, I haven't yet started on the third chapter, but I'll start on that when I get this one done. I PROMISE!!! I was also waiting for a few reviews before I put this up. Unfortunately, those took longer than expected. But oh well.....anything else to say Lloyd?  
**Lloyd:** Oh, and Silver would like me to inform you that she will try to update by Saturday at the earliest. Lazy bum!!  
**Me:** Oh forget you! Disclaim me or I'll kill you.  
**Lloyd:** That's not nice...T_T SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Yeah...it prbly wouldn't be good to kill your muse...oh well. Onto the story!! Oh and I know there's A LOT of time skips, but if I didn't put them in there, these chapters would probably be over twelve thousand words long! And I don't feel like typing/writing that much. XD _

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Kratos stared in horror at the mass of bandages that was his one and only son. From head to toe (literally!), Lloyd was in bandages. He walked over to his side, and immediately noticed that something was out of place. There was something on Lloyd's arm. He took a closer look and saw that it was a bracelet. Well, more of it was attached to his hand and the bracelet was under it.

It glimmered in the slim amount of sunlight that came through the pulled curtains of the hospital room. When Kratos went to take it off, in worry of what it could be, he felt something like an outer shell on the gem. He glared and tried to push his hand through it. But, sadly, his attempt failed. He sighed in defeat and sat down in a nearby chair.

Gently, he shook Lloyd's shoulder, to see if he would wake up. But to no avail, all Lloyd did was shift in discomfort of the arm on his shoulder. Kratos sighed again and glanced around the room for a nurse.

He was reluctant to leave the room, but he wanted to find a nurse so he left, glancing back at Lloyd's form before walking out of the room and almost closing the door, leaving it slightly open for air circulation. When he finally found a nurse, two hallways away, he asked her about his son's condition. Sadly, all she knew was that he was stable. He walked away muttering a small thanks under his breath.

Eventually, he found Lloyd's doctor, who was a floor down and another three hallways away, he asked the same question he asked the nurse. The doctor told him that in about nine months Lloyd would be able to leave and walk, most likely with a limp, out to the car. Kratos gratefully thanked him and headed back to Lloyd's room.

**--3 Months Later--**

Kratos stood in the elevator, waiting for it to reach the seventh floor. His eyes opened and closed droopily and he yawned loudly. Thankfully, there was no one else in the elevator. Every day since he had gotten out of the hospital, he would come up to visit Lloyd. Would it be his lunchbreak or after work, he always came to visit. And every now and then he would see some of Lloyd's friends from school sitting quietly in his room. Mostly it was just Colette, Genis and Zelos but sometimes it would be Raine, his teacher.

The elevator dinged and Kratos ground his teeth as his ears began to ring. He sighed and began to walk out of the elevator, and immediately stopped. He glared at the man in front of him.

"Why, fancy meeting you here Kratos." The blonde man said as he gave a cheerful wave. His eyes were a piercing emerald that sent chills up Kratos' spine and he tried to avoid his gaze. He wore all white and a simple black trench coat. Just like every other evil villian out there. Wait, why did he think he was evil?

It took Kratos a while to realize that the blonde had actually said something to him. He blinked once and then looked up again, "How do you know my name?" He glared, taking a cautious step past the threshold as the doors closed behind him.

"Why, were comrads of course! Well, friends if you prefer." He said with a grin, emerald eyes lighting up in amusement.

"Who are you? Are you the one who put that gem on my sons arm?!" Kratos said, barely controlling the volume of his voice and his rising temper. He silently counted to ten, grinding his teeth until he felt as though they would break.

"Temper, temper," Blondie tsk'd while clicking his tongue and wagging his finger at Kratos, "You'll find out soon enough my auburn haired friend! Well, six months to be appoximate. But anyways, for now, I have some important buisness to take care of. Tah!" He waved and pushed passed Kratos who hadn't even realized that the elevator had opened behind him until the doors closed and the dinging slowly faded as it moved downward.

Kratos stood there until one of the nurses walked up to him with a worried stare. Brain barely registering her voice he answered her question with a nod and a "I'm fine." He walked off in the direction of Lloyd's room, strides increasing as he got closer and a worried expression on his face.

When he turned down the hallway, he saw Lloyd's door was ajar, and heard arguing coming from behind the slightly open door. He sighed and walked into the room, seeing Zelos and Genis arguing about hair care products or something like that. He looked to his left and saw Colette sitting in a chair with a worried expression on her face.

"Shh!!" She whispered, "You'll wake Lloyd!!" She turned when she heard someone clear their throat and saw Kratos in the doorway, "Oh! Hello Mr. Kratos!" Colette said, face immediately brightening.

Kratos nodded with a small smile and pulled a chair up to Lloyd's bed. After a few moments, Genis, Colette and Zelos exited the room, saying there goodbyes and waving.

He sighed and relished the new quietness that had filled the room.

--

He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until Genis had walked back into the room and was poking him and shaking his shoulder saying, "Um..Kratos?" He grunted and sat up straight, attempting to clear his head.

"How long was I asleep?" He asked in a slurred, sleepy tone.

"I don't know, probably about 3 hours. I decided to come back to see Lloyd because I had finished my homework." He gave a triumphant smile before striding over to a chair and pulling it up next to Kratos'. "Oh and by the way, do you know what this is?" He inquired, nodding his head toward Lloyd's wrist.

Kratos shook his head no. Although he suspected the mysterious (yet not so mysterious) blonde haired man. He silently cursed himself for not questioning him further on the gem's excistence. Though, he really couldn't have because the weirdo had left before he could ask anymore. He sighed and put his face in his hands.

After another long while, Genis decided to leave, and Kratos decided it would be best if he went home too.

**--3 Months Later--**

Kratos sat by his son, head falling forward but then quickly coming back up and then falling once again. This process was repeated a lot, followed by him closing his eyes for as second before blinking them back open. His boss at work had been worried about his health because he had been visiting Lloyd every chance he got, causing him to miss a LOT of sleep. But instead of going home and sleeping like his boss had told him to do, he decided to go visit Lloyd.

He sighed, "Maybe a few minutes wouldn't hurt..." He closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.

--

He was awoken by someone poking his arm, but it was a strained movement, like the person/thing had a hard time moving. Someone called his name. He groggily remembered the voice, but couldn't place the name or face. He turned in his chair and pushed the hand away. The thing prodded his stomach for a third time. He groaned and opened his eyes to see Lloyd staring at him, chocolate eyes alive and lit with excitement for the new day and showing hint of a smile.

"Morning dad! You sleep well?" Lloyd said with a grin. Kratos gaped at him, eyes wide and mouth hanging partially open. "You know, if your mouth hangs open too long, bugs'll fly in." Lloyd said and chuckled, but quickly stopped and clutched his injured side. Kratos shook his head and decided to do something with himself.

"So, you're finally awake," Kratos said with a small smile, "I'll be back in a moment, I'm going to go get your doctor." Lloyd sighed and glanced out the window, enjoying the suns warmth on his face.

A few moments later, Kratos came in with a doctor on his heels. He had long blue hair tied back in a messy ponytail. He said his name was Dr. Regal Bryant or something like that. Lloyd never cared much for doctors. He walked over to the bed and gave Lloyd a small smile, eyes glinting with amusement.

He began to clean Lloyd's wounds, replace bandages, and then stood up and straightened himself, "From what I can see, he might be able to start retraining his body to walk. Which is a very good thing. He is very lucky to be alive." He looked back at Lloyd and gave him a small nod, "Yes, very lucky. Well, I must be going. Other patients to attend to. Good day." He strided out of the room and left the two Aurions alone to talk.

Lloyd sighed and laid back down with a grunt, angered by the fact that just the task of sitting up for ten mintutes was that taxing on his stamina. He yawned widely and closed his eyes, momentarily forgetting his dad. Hospitals were so boring, especially when you were the patient and you couldn't move.

"You must be tired. Do you want me to leave?" Kratos asked as he made a move to walk out of the room. But he was stopped by a hand gripping the edge of his sleeve, pulling him away from the door.

"No, stay." Lloyd said with a slurred tone as his heavy eyelids closed and he drifted into a peacful sleep.

**--3 Months Later--**

The day had finally come! The day were Lloyd could leave this boring place and head back to the home he hadn't seen in almost a year. It had taken the last three months for him to get steady on his legs again, and the past week for him to finally be able to walk up and down stairs. Then a few _more _days to finish up healing and to get all of his paperwork filled out and ready to go. But finally, finally he was free.

Lloyd smiled and took in the fresh autumn air that filled his nostrils as he and Kratos exited the hospital. It had been so long since he'd smelt fresh air! They walked through the parking lot until they got to Kratos' black car. Lloyd pulled open the door and got in, feeling a slight tinge of fear for getting in a car again. But he trusted Kratos so he filtered it to the back of his mind.

Slamming the door shut and strapping himself in with the seat belt, he sniffed the air of the car. He always loved the new car smell. Obviously, after a crash that bad, their car had been totaled. But Kratos made more than enough money to easily buy a new one. And besides, it was an awesome new car!

His father got into the drivers side, strapped in and started up the car. The air blasted on in Lloyds face and he shivered. Kratos, noticing, turned off the air. Backing out of the parking spot, he checked for cars and then pulled out completely, exited the parking lot, and drove onto the main road.

The whole ride back to their house had been silent, Lloyd occasionally changing the volume and the station of the radio according to the song that was playing. He hummed softly as "21 Guns by Green Day"(1) started to play. He really liked this song.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they pulled into the driveway of their two story beige house. As soon as Kratos put the car in park, Lloyd was unstrapped and out the door in seconds. A new record. Kratos sighed and got out as well, walking calmly over to his energetic son who was bouncing up and down in front of the locked door.

He unlocked it and opened the door. The house was in complete darkness and, out of reflex, Kratos reached to his right and turned on the lamp. It was nighttime and also a new moon out so the sky was lit with stars only. He shut the door and wandered after his son who had gone into the kitchen. When Kratos found him, he was kneeling in front of a picture of Anna, Kratos' late wife.

"Hey mom," Lloyd muttered, "Yeah, I just got back from the hospital. But don't worry, I'm alright. And so is dad." He smiled slightly, as if hearing a reply to his words.

Kratos had often found Lloyd talking to the photo. He had done it a few times himself. He ahd just dismissed it as Lloyd's way of coping with his mothers death. She had died in an unfortunate car accident. At her funeral, Lloyd hadn't cried, not once, not even a tear. At first, Kratos had thought that his son was being rude and didn't care for his mother, but he had asked him and Lloyd had stated that he needed to be strong for his "mommy".

"You should head to bed," Kratos said to Lloyd who stood up at his words, "Its pretty late out."

"Yeah..." Lloyd said with a smile and walked up the stairs and to his room.

--

The next morning, Kratos was downstairs flipping pancakes in a pan on the stove in the kitchen. He made a few more and shut off the bacon before heading upstairs to wake up Lloyd, wondering why he hadn't responded to his alarm clock, nor the smell of food, like he usually did in the morning.

He walked into Lloyd's room and over to his bed. He shook his son's shoulder lightly, and then again, and again, and again. By now, he was starting to get a little worried as to why Lloyd wasn't responding. Upon getting no responses to the lighter shaking, he shook his shoulder harder and called his name. But again, no response. After a few more attempts, Kratos knew something was wrong. He checked if Lloyd was breathing (he was) and headed out to the hallway phone to call nine one one.

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_**1:** I love this song!! You HAVE to listen to it. But it has nothing to do with the chapter. But its still awesome!_

_**Me:** Okay, that took forever to type. I hope it was okay!! T_T I wanted to make a really good chapter to make up for the late update. So....TELL ME IN YOUR REVIEWS!!  
**Lloyd:** Are you just going to leave me out? I mean, come on! I'm barely even in this story, and its about me!  
**Me:** Well....you'll just have to wait and see till I'm done with the next chapter. WHICH WILL BE POSTED BY NEXT SATURDAY!! I SWEAR IT!!  
**Lloyd:** Liar. You're going to forget, like you always do.  
**Me:** -smap- Be nice. Anyways, review and i'll give you a ToS FANCLUB membership cookie! :D  
**Lloyd:** Wordcount -rubs head- was 2,883. EPIC FAIL!!!_


	3. The New World

**Ch. 3: The New World**

_**SilverMoon:** Um...hey!! I've decided to update!! Yay! XD  
__**Lloyd:** Uhuh.  
**Me:** Okay, anyways, I'm in a reallly good mood right now so...here's the next chapter!! Care to disclaim me Lloyd?  
**Lloyd:** Sure......SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Okay, so.....um.....Onto the story! XD_

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"So, what's wrong with my son?" Kratos asked, glaring at the doctor standing beside his son's bed. After he had called nine one one, they had been there in almost three minutes. Too long for Kratos' sake. Who knows what could've happened to his son in that time?

But anyways, now they were at the hospital, standing by Lloyd's bed. Again. Seriously, this happened way too often. He sighed and listened to the doctors explanation about why his son was the way he was and why he didn't know why he was in a coma again. Mentally, he reminded himself to find that blonde man and kick his ass because obviously it was his fault.

Grimacing as the doctor left and resisting the urge to stick his tongue out, he sat down on a chair near the teens' bed. He ran his thumb across Lloyd's forhead and ruffled his hair. Smiling slightly, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Opening them once again as he felt someone else's prescence in the room. He immediately glared.

"What do you want?" He growled, standing.

"Why, I just wanted to see your son and how he was doing, Kratos," The blonde man grinned and stepped a little closer to the bed, "I mean, the poor boy must be going through a lot. After all, just getting out of the hospital, and then going straight back in."

"Why do you care so much? And what's your name?" Kratos questioned fiercly, almost failing at controlling his temper.

"Hm.....I guess I should tell you my name, after all, were friends! My name is Mithos Yggdrasil." He grinned as Kratos' eyes widened, that was the man who'd been killed in the accident, wasn't it?

**_--Lloyd--_**

He opened his eyes, mostly because of the light that was shining on his face was getting a little too bright. Its not like he wanted to or anything. He sat up and looked around the very unfamiliar room. Yet, it was very familiar at the same time. The wooden door in the corner looked like it was made by a very skilled craftsmen, but not one that he knew of.

Shaking his head and throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up shakily. He noticed that he wasn't wearing his normal pajamas, a black t-shirt and red sweat pants. But instead, he was wearing a black tang-top and dark blue pants. Shrugging, he walked over towards the door and opened it, seeing the wooden stairs that led downward.

"Okay....somethings going on here...." Lloyd muttered to himself, "Where am I?" he murmered as he cautiously took a step down the stairs and winced as they creaked loudly. A voice with a heavy accent called from downstairs.

"Ah, Lloyd, I see yer awake." A very short man came into view. He had pointy ears and beady eyes, but they shown kindness when he looked at Lloyd. He had chocolate brown hair (much like Lloyds) and he wore old style clothes.

"Um.....yeah.....who are you?" He asked while cautiously walking down some more of the stairs.

"Dirk, yer foster father. Remember? I swear, you'd forget yer own head if it wasn't attached." Dirk said while shaking his head, "Now get down here an eat your breakfast before it gets cold." Dirk ordered and walked off into another room.

Lloyd walked the rest of the way down the stairs and into what looked like it could be a kitchen. There was a table, a few counters and two stoves. One looked like it was for a forge though. Like one from one of those books Lloyd used to read.

Walking over to the table, he saw that there was a plate on it with some eggs, bacon and bread. His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eat in forever. Well, if they even fed him at the hospital. Speaking of which...."Hey um...Dirk?" He asked, glancing around for the man he now realized must've been a dwarf.

Dirk walked in and gave Lloyd an odd look, "Yes? By the way, what's up with you this mornin? Normally, yer more enthusiastic, an less cautious."

"Well...you see....I really don't know what's going on...or where we are. Is there a phone nearby where I can call my dad?" Lloyd asked realizing finally the situation he was in and that he really needs to work on his delayed reactions. He sighed, and in realizing that he sighed, he noted to himself that he needed to stop acting like his dad.

"Well, for one, we live by a village called Iselia, and what the heck is a phone?" Dirk questioned, tilting his head a little. Although, the way he said "phone" came out more like "phoon" because he couldn't pronounce it well.

"Um...nevermind," Lloyd said. _What the hells going on? How do they not know what a phone is? Am I dreaming? _He shook his head, trying to think of some answer, "Okay....do you know what state or country that's in?" Lloyd asked. He figured that someone must've kidnnaped him or something while he was asleep. But this man seemed nice.

"I don't know what yer talking about boy. But were in Sylverant(sp? I forgot how to spell that. T_T) if that helps at all." Dirk said while walking over to the second stove on the wall close to the stairs. He picked up a piece of wood and began scraping at it with a knife.

"Okay......" Lloyd mumured. _So somehow....I'm in another world....but why does this all seem so familiar? _Unconciously, he sat down and began eating the eggs. They were really good, even though they were cold. _WAIT! I remember now!! _"I must be in that new video game Zelos got called Tales of Symphonia!!" He shouted suddenly.

"What are you talkin about now Lloyd?" Dirk asked, glancing up from the chunk of wood that was slowly becoming the shape of a sword.

"Um, nothing. I was just thinking of something." Lloyd said and stood, having finished his breakfast. _That means, the oracle should be happening today. If I'm right, everything should follow the game, and we got to like, Palmacosta so I should be okay for a while. _But somewhere in the part of his mind, he wondered how this happened.

"Well, you should be off to school now." Dirk said. Lloyd nodded and ran up the stairs to get dressed.

Once that was taken care of, he came back down the stairs and almost ran into Dirk. "Don't forget these. I just made 'em for ya cause you might need 'em on yer way." He handed Lloyd two wooden swords, with there sheathes, that Lloyd attached to his belt and then he left for school.

--

Walking into the classroom, he saw that most of the students were already there. But, if he remembered correctly, the game started at the point where Raine shouted, "Lloyd Irving wake up!" and then he would wake up and the game would start. _Hold on! Lloyd IRVING? Where did that come from?? Oh yeah, Dirk said that I was his foster child, so that must be his last name. Hm...._ Lloyd thought as he sat down at his desk.

A teacher walked into the room, and he recognized her as the teacher who would wake him up. He thought her name was....oh yeah! Raine Sage. And her brother, Genis and Colette who would become the chosen. He sat comfortably as she took roll call and then started her lesson. He sighed and felt his eyes start to droop.

"Lloyd Irving wake up!!" Raine shouted at her sleeping student.

"Eh..." Lloyd said, opening his eyes, "I-is class over?" He asked while sitting up straighter and glancing around the room, seeing that everyone was still in there seats, he figured it wasn't.

Raine sighed and turned to Genis, "Can you answer the question, please?"

"Okay." Genis said, standing up, "Mithos the Hero, brought about the end of the Ancient War on the Holy Ground of Kharlan." Genis said, glanced back a Lloyd, and sat down with a triumphet grin on his face.

"Correct. Afterwards, Mithos formed a pact with the Goddess Martel to seal away the Desians, whom caused the war." She finished with a nod of her head and then looked back at Lloyd, expecting him to comment. He stared at her for a second but then realized he was supposed to say something....but couldn't remember what it was.

Just then, a bright light shined into the classroom, and the whole class gasped. "Its the oracle....just like the game..." Lloyd muttered as Raine got up from her desk.

"Settle down. It would seem that the time for the oracle has come. I'll go ahead to the temple. You all stay here and study until I get back." She grabbed her staff from against the wall and ran out of the room.

Lloyd got up and ran to the door, hearing smaller footsteps come up behind him, he turned to see Genis. "Lloyd! Where are you going? Don't tell me you're sneaking out!" Genis scolded.

"Oh come on Genis, its research!" Lloyd said with a carefree smile, playing his part perfectly.

"But Raine said to stay here and study!!" Genis yelled, knowing this was a losing argument. He sighed as Lloyd still wouldn't listen. "Okay....but I'm going with you!" He said with a grin.

"Okay. How about you Colette?" He asked, turning to Colette.

"Um...are you going to go?" She asked with an "imoblivioustoeverythingandeveryone" smile.

"Of course. Lets go!" He said and ran out of the classroom, Genis and Colette in tow.

---

When they reached the temple, they had been through over ten battles, and Lloyd was finally getting the handle of fighting. It took him until the end of the first battle to realize that the fighting style was way different from the game and that the gem on his hand was called an Exsphere. When he had accidentally brushed his hand over it, a million memories had flooded into his head. One had to do with his mother, Anna, being killed by something.

He got to the stairs of the temple and gasped in horror. A priest was slowly staggering his way down the stairs, and he was covered in blood. An arrow was sticking out of his chest and he was breathing hard, blood coming up in gurgles with every gasp for air. About halfway down the steps, he fell, and Lloyd, Genis, and Colette ran up to him.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked as he rubbed an apple gel (which he had learned earlier healed your wounds) on the mans chest where the arrow had hit him.

"Chosen...please.....recieve....th-the...oracle...." He muttered, blood seeping out of his mouth.

"I know, I will." Colette said, a tear running down her cheek.

"I regret....that I was....unable...to protect...the cho...sen......" His eyes closed and his body went limp. Blood still flowed in a trickle out of his mouth and a puddle was forming beneath him. Lloyd grimaced at all the blood and resisted the urge to puke.

"Okay guys, lets go." He muttered and stood. "Colette, stay to the back. You're our main priority to protect." He said with more authority and they headed onward up the stairs.

The sounds of battle got closer as they got further up the steps. Lloyd grimaced at the thought of killing humans, but he had to if he wanted to protect Colette. They finally reached the top and saw that Colette's grandmother was backed into a corner, surrounded by two desians and a big burly man with a beard.

"No Colette, run!" Phaidra shouted and the bearded man turned to them.

"Ah, so this is the chosen. Get her!" He shouted and the two desians charged at Lloyd, Colette, and Genis.

Lloyd blocked the firsts attack with one of his swords while bringing the other up to slash at the desians chest. It knocked the man backwards but did nothing else. As he charged again, Lloyd got ready to block but the soldier was stopped by three fireballs being launched at his face. Lloyd grinned and silently thanked Genis, having realized that turning to thank him during battle could get him killed.

He charged at the next desian, who was currently trying attack Colette, but failing a she kept dodging to the side. He slashed at the back of the mans head, successfully knocking him out. He grinned and turned to see if there was anything else, but the ground started to vibrate. He looked up to see that there was a big man coming at them, and he was BIG BIG not little big like the other guys.

Sighing, he charged up at it, feeling his legs start to burn with the effort. He was thrown backwards and into Genis, who was trying to cast Fireball again. He felt something warm on his chest and saw that he was bleeding a little. Grimacing, he said sorry to Genis and stood to attack again.

Getting a running start, he decided to try one of the techniques he learned when they were battling earlier. He shouted as he swung his sword in a upside down arc, "Demon Fang!!" It connected and mangaged to knock the man back a few feet. _If only I had real swords... _He thought before sidestepping a blow from the mace in the desians right hand.

But he felt a pain in his side and almost flew down the stairs, if not having been half caught by Colette. He grunted in pain and rubbed an apple gel on his injured side. Standing up shakily, he found that his legs would not hold him up, he groaned and kneeled down on one knee, supporting himself with sword. He looked to his side and saw Genis and Colette by him.

The footsteps were getting closer and he looked up to see the man swinging his mace around his head and bring his sword down towards his head. He prepared himself for the blow, but it never came.

When he looked up he saw a man in purple.

That man was his dad, Kratos Aurion.

* * *

_**Me:** Okay, how was that for an awesome chapter? I liked it!!  
**Lloyd:** Uhuh...that's what all authors say when they hate a chapter they've written.  
**Me:** I'll try to update again in a few days, if possible. But this one was up pretty early for me so you'll have to make do with this for a bit. Teehee!! Oh and I know I cut out a few parts, but I really didn't feel like typing them. I hope it turned out okay.  
**Lloyd:** Ehh...whatever. Wordcount was........2,736. Good for you.  
**Me:** REVIEW PLEASE!!! I won't update if I don't get two reviews!! Three would be nice....:D_


	4. The First Trial of the Chosen

_**Ch. 4: The First Trial of the Chosen**_

_**SilverMoon:** I know I know! I've been lazy! T_T I'm sorry. Seriously, I am. I've had the flu for the past few days and I finally found some time to sit down and type this. But I know I promised to update earlier....I'm going to actually try and start updating earlier. A futile effort as Yggy would say.  
**Lloyd:** -snore-  
**Me:** But enough self pitying! I need to get this done!  
**Lloyd:** zzzzZZZZZ....  
**Me:** Ahem. DISCLAIMER!! -smacks him with a piece of paper-  
**Lloyd:** AH! SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco!! HAPPYY?? -falls back asleep-  
**Me:** Thankies! Onto le story!!_

* * *

Lloyd knelt there, dumbfounded on the reason why his father was in a place like this. Especially since he was dressed like he belonged here. Now that he thought about it, why was he here? It was kinda starting to worry him a tad bit. He decided that at the moment, worrying wasn't the best idea for the situation. He could freak out later. So he stood, shakily and having regained a little strength in his body, he walked over to Kratos and thanked him for saving him.

"Just get out of the way." Kratos said before charging at the man recently found out to be named Vidarr. Lloyd stared in awe as the mercenary singlehandedly took down the desian. He watched as the man jumped and dodged nimbly. Once, he jumped back by Lloyd snorting, "Are you going to just stand there like an idiot or are you going to help me out?" Lloyd immediately knew that this wasn't his father from HIS world. It was like he was in another dimesion.

"Whatever." Lloyd replied hotly before charging as well at the man in front of them.

Finally they beat the desian and the others retreated quickly, noticing Kratos' presense finally. Lloyd crossed his arms and glared at Kratos because he wasn't able to deliver the final blow. For some odd reason he felt he had to prove himself to this man who looked so much like his dad.

"Who're you?" He asked angrily, face scrunched in distaste.

"My name is Kratos Aurion," He stated simply, "I am a mercenary, and will take on the job of protecting the Chosen." He said, ignoring Lloyd and turning to face Phaidra. His glinting exsphere caught Lloyd's eye.

"So you have an exsphere too?" Lloyd questioned. He glared at the mercenary as he ignored his questions and took his first payment from Phaidra. Kratos began to walk into the temple, but realized that Colette wasn't following.

"Are you coming Chosen?" He said kindly and turned towards her.

She glanced up from the ground, "Oh, of course!" She said with a flustered smile and then her and Kratos walked into the temple. Lloyd huffed angrily and stalked in after them.

Once he caught up, Kratos chewed him out for following him, saying something like "this isn't a field trip", before asking if his sword skills were self taught. Lloyd coughed, realizing that he had only just learned how to fight with a sword. None the less two, "Um...yeah, I guess you could say that..."

"Then you'd better have this," He said, handing Lloyd what looked like a journel. The cover was tattered and worn, but the binding still looked to be strong, "You can use it to record all the data you recieve from battle. That way you can learn as you go." After Lloyd took it, he continued onward, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he walked.

Lloyd chuckled a bit at that, remembering about how he and Zelos had made fun of Kratos every time he did that in the game, before realizing that he was following behind. He ran to catch up and saw that Colette had tripped and run into a monster, which had caused the battle that they were currently in.

He ran into the fight, charging at what looked like a golem. He sighed, realizing that wooden swords wouldn't do much against stone, so he settled for Demon Fanging it every now and then, throwing in a few Sonic Thrusts once in a while. Sighing deeply as Kratos said something like  
"that was easy" reminding Lloyd of an easy button and they continued on.

The golem turned out to actually be a stone block that they could push into the square holes in the ground. Every time they did, a new monster would appear, causing them to eventually (after many battles) make a path below. One led to the left side, one to the right, and the last to the middle, where the Sorcerer's Ring laid in wait.

Lloyd dashed up to the alter, grabbing the ring from the magic circle it was in. He slipped it onto his finger and pointed it at a wall, seeing how it shot a small ball of fire out. Disappointed, Lloyd handed the ring to Genis, "Is that all the ring does? That's boring." He sighed and they walked back up the stairs and up another flight, back towards the way they came. As they ascended the stairs, they managed to avoid quite a few monsters, finding three chests lined up on the wall that they hadn't seen before. Leaving the area, pockets a bit heavier, they head up a smaller flight of stairs, towards where the warp pad should've been.

Sighing as another obstacle was placed before them, Lloyd asked if he could see the ring. He wasn't really in the mood to spend the next thirty minutes trying to figure out what the heck they were supposed to do. He shot the fireball at the little switch in the back behind the force field and when it connected, the force field disappeared. Lloyd grinned, still amazed by the games graphics, before handing the ring back to Genis.

They continued onward, heading down a small hallway before reaching the warp pad. Kratos volunteered to go up with Colette alone, but Lloyd shouted, "I wanna see the angel too!!" Kratos gave him a suspicious look. "Um...shouldn't we be seeing an angel? I mean, Colettes' dad is one, right Colette?" He asked nervously, avoiding Kratos' gaze.

"Oh! Mmhmm! I've never met him before though." She said, eyes downcast.

"Then lets go meet him!!" Genis said, pumping his fist in the air and grinning happily. They all continued forward, walking cautiously because of not knowing what lies ahead. Although, Lloyd did know, having expierenced this before.

As they entered the new room they were in, something on the alter sparkled. Lloyd walked over to it, knowing fully well what it was. He stared at the crystal in awe. It was such a pretty thing. As Colette walked up beside him, a voice resounded throughout the room, as if over a loudspeaker with mutiple speakers in the room.

"Chosen of Mana, you've finally arrived. Pray to the Goddess Martel." The voice commanded.

Colette knelt before the alter, praying something to the Goddess under her breath. Lloyd strained to hear but found he could not. Suddenly, a bright light shined from above the alter, from the point where the light had been previously coming out of. It began to descend, and Lloyd backed away, not remembering what was about to happen.

The light stopped a few feet above Colette's head. Genis and Lloyd stared in awe and wonder as an angel was formed out of the light. He had blonde hair, much like Colettes, and his clothes and robe were a deep forest green. His hat was a deep green as well, but it also had a bright gold design, much like the one on his robes.

"I am Remiel. I am an angel of Judgement. I am here to guide Colette, daughter of the mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the Seventh Chosen." The angel, known as Remiel, spoke in a "iruleyou" tone of voice.

The crystal on the alter sparkled and began to glow brightly. It glowed and alighted their faces as it began to float towards Colette. Enventually, it arrived at her kneck, and attatched itself there. When the light died down, and you could see again, the crystal was attatched to Colette's kneck, and there was a gold encasement around it.

The angel began to speak again, "From this moment, Colette becomes the Chosen of Regeneration. We of Cruxis bless this event and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant." He turned towards the window as something began to fade into view.

Lloyd gasped and ran over to the window, holding the ledge and looking out it with a smile, "So that's the Tower of Salvation!" He said in surprise as the magnificent tower rose up above them.

Genis joined Lloyd at the window, "Now the world will be saved!" Their attention, however, was not captivated by the window long. Remiel began to speak again.

"Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration. Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation, and climb its stairs to heaven in a distant land." Remiel took a breath, and Lloyd sighed. This dude really loved to hear himself talk. He thought he heard Kratos scoff in the background, but decided to ignore it and go back to Remiels' speech.

Colette smiled and spoke in a whisper, "I humbly accept this task."

Remiel smiled in satisfaction, "Very good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated." He finished with finality.

"Thank you. I swear on my life that I will regenerate the world." She smiled, expecting him to float back up. But no, he had more to say.

"First, head south to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land." Finally, it seemed the angel was finished.

"Yes Lord Remiel." Colette said as the angel floated back up into the heavens. She yelled as she remembered what she forgot, "Uh, wait! Please wait!" She said desparately, "I have a question I wish to ask you. Are you really my fa--" But she was cut off by the angel.

"First, head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? My beloved daughter, Colette." And with that, he floated back up to where he came from, and then he was gone in another burst of light.

They stood there for a few moments, both relieved to be out of his prescence and still in wonder of the sight they just saw. Lloyd suddenly remembered something and made a move to leave, already knowing that Kratos would stop him.

"Let me and the Chosen go first. So we can get back to the village and report." He said, and gave a look to Colette. She nodded and they walked off, Colette muttering a "goodbye" as they walked onto the warp pad, and faded away out of view. Lloyd sighed and stepped onto the warp pad after them, sensing Genis following him.

As they descended the small staircase, he heard someone laughing quietly and talking to herself. Knowing the voice, he looked up to see Raine standing in the enterance, entranced by the beauty that was the temple. She heard Genis cough and looked up, face suddenly contorting in rage. "What are you two doing here?! I thought I specifically told you to stay back in class and study with the others?!" She shouted in anger. Genis winced at the volume of her voice, "I suppose I should give you both detentions, but since I guess it was curiosity, then I will just have to punish you here."

And with that, she walked over to Genis and started to smack him. (A/N:We all know what happened here. And it sounds kinda creepy to type it. O.o)

Anyways, so after she had spanked Genis and kicked Lloyd into a wall, she told them to leave. They walked out of the temple and were on the stairs when they heard something or someone laughing. Lloyd suspected some crazy person.

Genis suspected Raine.

* * *

_**Me:** Yay!! I actually took the time to look up most of the quotes for the temple scene. As most of you know. So please, no flamers. I really hope that you liked it. I tried.  
**Lloyd:** -snore-  
**Me:** WOULD YOU GET OUT OF HERE?? -throws him out of the room and pulls some random person in- Oh hey, you're in the wrong Tales game Senel (he's from Tales of Legendia AKA: Main Character).  
**Senel:** Yeah....I got lost looking for Shirley.  
**Me:** Hm...care to say my wordcount?  
**Senel:** Sure....wordcount was....-pathetic drumroll- 2,303!!!  
**Me:** Yay!! It was over 2000!! REVIEW AND GET A SENEL COOKIE!! :D Oh and I know it wasn't the best ending for a chapter, but I thought I should end it there. It kinda fit, you know? XD But anyways, quit listening to me ramble AND REVIEW!! :D_


	5. The Journey

_**Ch. 5: The Journey** _

_**SilverMoon:** Yeah...once again, lazy with updating. I really need to work on that. Sorryz.  
**Lloyd:** Yes, you do you suckish hunk of lazy crap flesh.  
**Me:** I'll pretend that made sense. Anyways, I figure this'll be an early Christmas present for all of you. Although I may update again before C-mas.  
**Lloyd:** Liar.  
**Me:** So anyone wanna say the disclaimer?  
**Lloyd:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or namco.  
**Me:** Anyone? No? Okay. Onto the story!! Oh yeah...and Lloyd's a bit ooc in this story. I know that and I'm doing it so he fits the story. I'm sorry if that upsets your liking to this story.  
**Lloyd:** YOU JERK!! -runs away-_

_

* * *

_

"What do you mean we can't come?!" Lloyd slammed his fist down on the table in front of him.

"Its too dangerous. The monsters in the temple were nothing compared to the real world." Kratos sighed. Lloyd was a stubborn as a mule. The Journey of Regeneration was no place for a child.

"Fine." Lloyd stood up straight and glared at Kratos. He turned and strode out of the room. The sound of smaller footsteps soon followed his out the door. Lloyd turned to see Genis following behind him. "Do you need something?" He asked, glancing around warily for Raine. He was pretty scared of her after what happened in the temple.

"Um....I wanted to walk part of the way home with you." Genis mumbled and looked at his feet.

"Sure," Lloyd flashed a goofy grin, "Lets go!"He began to march away and trying to act like he was in a good mood.

Genis, noticing that Lloyd wasn't so angry anymore, happily began to follow Lloyd. "Hey um, Lloyd? Can we stop at my house? I need to get a few things."

Lloyd nodded and continued onward towards Genis' house. Once there, Genis ran inside. Lloyd stood by the door waiting patiently. His smile faded and he began to think.

_Okay...so the big question is, how did I get here? It must've had something to do with the accident. But then there was that gem that was on my arm....that could have something to do with it. _Sighing, he rubbed his temples. "What the heck is going on here?" He muttered to himself. Cursing under his breath, he kicked a stone that was lying in the dirt in front of him.

"Lloyd?" Genis poked him in the side, "You ready to go?" He was carrying a bag that rattled as he pushed it back up on his shoulder.

"Yeah." Lloyd mumured, still halfway lost in thought.

"You know, if you think too much your head will explode."

"Oh shut up Genis!" Lloyd said playfully and they began a game of tag that they continued as they traveled through the forest. Finally, they reached the halfway point, the human ranch.

"This is where I stop." Genis said, ending the game.

"What do you need to do here?" Lloyd eyed the ranch suspiciously. He could see the Desians between the bars of the enterance. They yelled at someone and whipped them harshly. Lloyd glared angrily.

"Um...I'm visiting a friend." Genis turned away from Lloyd and began to walk into the ranch perimeter.

"Okay, but I'm going with you." Lloyd walked after Genis, being careful to keep one hand on his sword, just in case. He realized that they were getting too close and pulled Genis behind a bush. "We almost got caught by the cameras! Be careful." Lloyd muttered to Genis. He then noticed that he really couldn't see any cameras.

"She's just over there. C'mon Lloyd." Genis grabbed Lloyd's arm and they snuck over to one area of the ranch where the bars were so far apart that you could stick your arm through them. "Hey Marble." He whispered to one of the older ranch prisoners that was leaning against a wall. She looked up and hobbled over to them.

"Oh, Genis!" She said in a cracky voice that reminded Lloyd of one of the villagers.

"Hey Marble." Genis smiled and dropped the bag on the ground with a light 'thump'. "How are you doing?" He pulled a slice of bread and some cheese out of the bag and handed it to her.

"Thank you Genis. I'm fine. They've been more lienant on the punishments." She munched lightly on the bread. Something glinted and caught Lloyd's eye. He glanced at her hand and saw an exsphere placed there.

"Is that an exsphere?" He questioned.

"Is that what its called? They placed it on me when I arrived here." She said, rubbing the gem.

"But its missing the keycrest. Its dangerous to not have one, it can cause illness." Lloyd rubbed his chin while mulling over the situation. _Wait, how did I know that? _He thought, shocked.

"Then where can we get one?" Genis asked with a worried expression plastered on his face. Lloyd thought about this for a minute. He figured Dirk could make one, since he was a dwarf and all.

"Well, I guess I can ask Dirk to make one. I'll ask him when I get home." Lloyd pinky promised Genis and looked up to see two Desians headed towards them. "We better get out of here." He murmured.

"But we can't just leave Marble here!" Genis said, warily eying the Desians.

"Hurry, go! I'll be fine!" Marble said, shoving the rest of the food into her pocket. Genis nodded with a sorrowful expression and then ran off with Lloyd. They got to the middle of the clearing that was the front of the ranch.

"Hey Lloyd, do you think you can jump up there? I want to make sure Marble's going to be okay." Genis pointed to a nearby cliff that looked as if it was a small enough jump to where Lloyd could make it.

"Yeah." Lloyd lifted Genis up into a piggyback position and took off towards the cliff. Barely making the jump, he jumped to the next part of the cliff and onward. Once they reached the top, Lloyd set Genis down and they looked at where Marble was. At the moment, she was being wipped brutally.

"Marble!" Genis gasped.

"I've got a plan. Genis, shoot three fireballs down there. Then I'll act as a decoy and attract them to the front of the ranch. You escape down the cliff." Lloyd winced as Marble yelped in pain as they wipped her again.

"But what about you..?"

"I'll be fine. Ready?" He muttered, "GO!" Genis immediately casted fireball and three balls of fire shot down at the Desians. Lloyd charged across the top of the steel bars and jumped down when he reached the gate.

Lloyd heard it screech open behind him and charged off to his left, hoping to escape without having to jump off the cliff. As he was doing this, he remembered something from the game he was playing with Zelos. All this had happened, and then Iselia had been set on fire. "Crap!" He said under his breath as he darted away from the Desians again.

"Oww..." A voice said in pain from behind a bush.

_Genis..._ Lloyd thought and stopped running. He had to make sure Genis got away safely. The Desians glared at him through their helmets and he glared back. After a few moments of silence, he charged at them, swords drawn.

Slashing up at the first one, he heard the mans feet land a few meters away as he dodged. Lloyd turned and ran at the second one, dodging around him and then wacking him on the back of the neck, knocking him out. He ran back a the first one, attempting to do the same thing he did to the last one, but failed. Cursing as he just barely missed getting an arm hacked off, he ran at him again shouting, "Sonic Thrust!" The power of the technique caused the sword to plunge straight through the Desian. He passed out.

More Desians ran up to Lloyd and he cursed again, "Oh screw it all!" He turned and dived off the cliff, silently hoping that he wouldn't break anything in the fall.

Surprisingly, he landed lightly on the ground. He saw Genis sprinting down the forest path. Running over to the half-elf, he saw that Genis was okay. "Good, you're okay." He said, out of breath.

"Are you okay Lloyd?" Genis said, eyes wide and wild. He looked Lloyd over, checking for injuries. He sighed in relief. Lloyd wasn't hurt because of him.

"Yeah, fine. But you should get out of here. I'll go back home and see if I can get that keycrest made. Don't tell Raine anything. Okay?" Lloyd patted Genis on the shoulder and ran off towards Dirk's house.

--

"You want me to do what now?" Dirk asked as he pounded the hammer onto the metal before him.

"Um...can you make a keycrest for me?"

"For who?" The dwarf looked up from his crafts stove to see Lloyd sitting on a nearby chair. He was looking at him like he was the scariest thing in the world since tomatoes were invented.

"Um...well, a mercenary came into town and he didn't have one. So I said I'd get him one." Lloyd said, hoping the lie would sound as true as it did to him.

"And where did he get it?"

"He took it from one of the Desians he killed." Lloyd took a wary step back. He knew the lie wouldn't hold. Then, he would have to tell the truth, and probably get yelled at or smacked like he usually did whenever he did something to make Dirk angry.

"Dwarven Vow Number Seven**(1)**, Lloyd. Don't lie." Dirk said, turning to face Lloyd fully.

"Eh.....okay um....there was this old lady at the ranch--"

"You went to the ranch?!" Dirk yelled, furious, "I told you to never go near there!" He took a swing at Lloyd, who nimbly dodged back.

"Sorry I asked!!" Lloyd turned and ran out of the house.

Once outside, he came face to face with Colette. She was staring at him with wide eyes, "I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?" She asked, giving him a worried stare.

"No. What do you need?" Lloyd smiled, or at least attempted.

"Um...I wanted to talk to you on the terrace. If that's okay?"

"Sure." Lloyd said. Before he turned, he saw Kratos kneeling down in front of his moms grave. It looked like he was praying. Sighing and turnining away, he followed Colette up the stairs and onto the terrace. "I'm sorry for not making your birthday present in time." Lloyd said, feeling the cool wind blow on his face.

"Its okay. If you just wish me a happy birthday I'll be happy." She smiled.

"Of course. Happy Birthday." He gave Colette a smile as well. They sat there for a moment in a comforting silence. The cool wind blew on them, making Lloyd shiver.

"Hey, Lloyd? We'll be leaving tomorrow at noon. Come to the village around then, okay?" Colette smiled, a sad smile that Lloyd didn't notice. As he nodded, she muttered, "I'm happy to have spent these last years with you."

"Colette! Time to go!" Genis shouted from below them. Colette nodded and walked back down to the ground floor.

Lloyd waved to them, and went back into his room, glad to be out of the cold outside.

* * *

_**1: Idk if that's what it actually is. If it isn't, please inform me so I can change it. Thankies!**_

_**Me:** Okay, so I know I skipped over some of the lines between Colette and Lloyd's talk. And some lines for the scene between Dirk and Lloyd. Sorry about that. I'm writing this mostly from memory.  
**???:** Of course you are.....  
**Me:** Okay mysterious "???" man. But anyways, the characters for the game that Lloyd played with Zelos were not the same ones that are with Lloyd in my story. Meaning that the characters in Zelos' ToS were different. Sorry for not clearing that up earlier. Oh and the plot for the games was still the same though.  
**???:** So...should I tell them the wordcount?  
**Me:** You should tell us your name.  
**???:** Nah. Too lazy. But the wordcount was -does a perfect drumroll- 2,263!!  
**Me:** Review and you'll get a cookie with"???" on it!!_


	6. The Authors Note of Impending DOOM!

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**_Authors Note:_**

There was one thing I realized after posting that last chapter, I really didn't explain things very well. I screwed up the whole plot idea that I had going on in my head. I used to just roll with it, but now I realize there were too many holes in the plot to fill. So I've decided to give up on this story. Its just too hard for me to continue with this. I'll try and repost it later but...I don't know when that will be. If you have any ideas on how the heck to continue this story, please review or message me.

Thanks for reading! (Whoever did)

**-SilverMoon**


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